Windows Safe Mode is a special diagnostic way of running Windows that allows us to do certain administrative things we can't do normally. It's also a limited way to boot if your PC has been disabled for some reason (like from a virus infection).

The official way to boot into Safe Mode is to turn on your PC, and to press F8 when you see the message about "Starting Windows". If you time this just right, you'll be put into a menu where you can choose "Safe Mode" as one of the options. Use the arrow keys to highlight this choice and press Enter. The PC will boot Safe Mode. The colors will look bad, the screen may look funny, but this is what we want for our diagnostics.

The unofficial way I tell people to boot into Safe Mode is because some computer makers like to display a status screen or company logo instead of the "Starting Windows" text. So, if you have trouble timing when to hit the F8 key, do this:

1. Turn your computer on.

2. Immediately start pressing the F8 key. (Don't hold it down, just tap it.)

3. Do this once every second. At some point the computer should realize you're hitting the F8 key, and you'll see the Safe Mode screen. (Some computers will also start beeping each time you hit the F8 key. Just ignore this sound and keep hitting the key!)

To exit Safe Mode, just reboot your PC as normal (Go to Start Menu-> Shut Down).